Top of the morningy to bsure, diddly doo Riverdance, bejeeezus......a bit to the north if you please....pwr shwr, motorsikall hilmut, noooooooo surrrrrennnnderrrrrrrr! It's Ireland time....!
Although it seems a bit of a furore around the Isle of Innisfree, that even W B Yeats in his most depressive state of mind would have called farcical.
It seems that old right has been in action. The right to refuse. The Nutts Corner promoter has refused the booking of Scotland's golden (subject to post race scrutineering) boy, Lordy Gordy Moodie (7) for the first leg of the annual Nordern Eyerland jolly, the Irish Open Championship. Fans are up in arms by the decison made by Ian Thompson Snr to decline his booking, and started to rant forth on the various forums, forcing Brisca to publish the following statement...
"BriSCA F2 acknowledge the passionate view and opinions of valued fans with regard to the exclusion of 7 Gordon Moodie from the Irish Open Championship at Nutts Corner on Thursday 8 June, and have some empathy with Gordon's exclusion...."
Passionate, yes, blinkered, maybe, measured, no. Instead the touch paper was lit with all sorts of falsehoods and accusations flying about...
"However, in all race divisions individual promoters have for many, many years the absolute right to decide whom they book for a meeting and it is only on very rare occasions and usually following an unresolveable 'localised' issue that a promoter may exercise this right"
It has always happened, not always in F2's, a recent example was Jon Palmer's (24) recent "ban" from Autospeed tracks, despite getting bookings elsewhere. Bangers is where it is most prevalent, in the past to separate rival factions and to prevent any disrepute to the track and or the sport. It is after all, the promoter who pays the prize money, pays the bills, and what they say goes. If its a championship at that track and you are banned from it, then sadly, as the promoter calls the shots, you don't get the chance.
"What has exacerbated the situation is the very late decision of Gordon to apply for a booking and even when the issue was identified at this late hour, behind the scenes individuals within BriSCA F2 have tried to seek a resolution which, sadly, in the timescale has not been possible."
Now the chase for silver has really hotted up, he saw the chance to prevent Chris Bradbury (886) closing the gap. Fair dos, but when IT Snr, said no, if you're a last minute Larry, if things go wrong..you don't have much time to rectify it. It was like the time I did my coursework for GCSE's, got it all typed up, and saved it on Sunday, only for it to corrupt on the Monday, and it was due in on the Tuesday....Cue frantic panicing and trying to resurrect. It might well a coincidence, but there is no grassy knoll....
"As the situation involves personal issues, that makes it more complex and is regrettable. Given this situation, BriSCA F2 cannot officially intervene."
To the unaware, Gordon Moodie's brother in law is Ian Thompson Jnr (901) who now lives in Scotland with his sister. Rumours abound that there was some disagreements between son and father and as a result, Gordon has been involved in the crossfire. To blame Brisca and Crispen as some have done is totally wrong. The opportunity to broker a peace deal between the two, makes Crispen like Kofi Annan, and with such entrenched positions means any diplomatic efforts in the time frame like urination during a gale, all its gonna do is blow back on you. It is a private matter brought into the public arena, and Brisca is right to stay out of it. If you had a row with your missus, how would you like it Graham Bunter turned up with a packet of garabaldis and thermos of tea.......
"Whilst having empathy with the Moodie team given the fiercely competitive National Points implications, regrettably this is a localised issue of dispute and suggestions that BriSCA F2 consider amending the point scoring for this event would be extremely disingenuous to the several other drivers that have entered for this event and at this very late hour. This may well have been an option for consideration had the matter come to light at a much earlier stage, as it could have enabled informed discussion to take place involving drivers who were wishing to compete and they could have then made an informed decision as to whether to attend or otherwise."
These claims that Moodie should be receiving double average points, and that the Championship shouldn't carry full points. Just because Bradders booked in, and might catch up slightly doesn't mean the rule book should be rewritten. Imagine all the Startrax folk who have been denied a booking, do they demand average points and recompetence? No, they just get on with it. A booking isn't a divine right. Double points for a second division title isn't right though. I include the Scottish and English championships in that, double points should only be for the majors.
Now don't get me wrong, it absolutely was an act of stupidity by Ian Thompson Snr to deny the booking, and it certainly didn't do his claims for a major title over in Ireland any good. Stock Car tracks are not the place to settle family feuds, it only ends up in tears, bans and bitterness.
Maybe as a resolution Brisca could arrange for both parties to talk it out like adults, or failing that, have a meeting in Manchester, Granada Studios to be precise, with a chairperson who used to work in Taunton (on Orchard FM no less), J Kyle esq.
However, a salient point for the loyal Moodie support team. Don't continually cry wolf and the conspiracy card, it wins you no favours with the silent majority, and you have to question whether as a result of his supports actions that fired the vitriol behind the assaults on the first bend of the last 2 world finals. He's an affable chap, but the general mob that follows reminds me of Michael Jackson fans. Fundamentalists, believing everything that comes out of Kennoway is gospel. They aren't doing him any favours whatsoever.
Still it's livened up Ftooz for a bit, and the Moodie fun bus ban doesn't apply to Ballymena, so it's only one chuffing meeting so get a grip! I still think silver at least will adorn the Moodie car come end of 2011, the sheer amount of meetings at tracks which he is good at, and Bradbury's admission that he's not actually chasing the points, just that he's racing the meetings he fancies, and well that he hasn't done too badly in them!
Its events like that this that does all parties no favours at all. Only one solution.
Heads. Banging. Together.
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